Shortly after Shohei Ohtani was born in 1994, Cubs manager Joe Maddon was flirting with the idea of a two-way player while coaching in the Angels system.

“I’ve always been intrigued by the concept,” Maddon said Friday on WSCR-AM 670. “I see nothing wrong with it. How you utilize it, that would be in progress. You’d have an idea of what you’d want to do, but then you’d figure out more as you do it.

“I definitely think it’s a wave of the future in a sense.”

Ohtani, 23, is expected to become the most coveted free agent of this offseason once his rights are posted by the Nippon Ham Fighters of the Japan Pacific League. Much of the intrigue involves how teams plan to use Ohtani, who has a 103-mph fastball and hit 22 home runs in 104 games in 2016.

Maddon repeated the story of Deshawn Warren, a left-handed pitcher whom the Angels drafted in the second round in 1992. He failed to progress steadily during his first four minor-league seasons but was the fastest runner in spring training and the instructional league.

“I asked (general manager) Dan O’Brien if we could work out a schedule for him to pitch, DH, play the outfield, take (batting practice), etc.,” Maddon said. “The tool of running was that good. I asked and was denied.

The Angels released Warren after five seasons.

“Had he been an offensive player too, who knows?” Maddon said. “The running tool was that good.”

Maddon said it makes more sense to try two-way players who are starting pitchers rather than relievers.

“It’s not easy to play a guy in the field after he pitches,” Maddon said. “There’s a time for arm recovery that you have to be cognizant of. It’s up to the individual how well he responds.”

As for his current club, Maddon admitted that free-agent pitcher Jake Arrieta “is probably gone,” a likely scenario dating to last spring after Arrieta, 31, spoke of possibly pitching until he is 40.

Maddon said the status of closer Wade Davis and other free agents seems more vague, but he expressed optimism about the front office’s pursuit of starting and relief pitching.

Maddon added he hadn’t dwelled much on the possibility of trading a young position player to acquire a pitcher.

“I haven’t wrapped my mind about it,” he said. “If it were to happen, it’s the nature of this game. It’s never easy, but you move it along.”

Maddon said he senses his players will be mentally fresher after the Dodgers cut short their bid for a second consecutive World Series appearance and pointed out spring training will start a few days later than last February.

“I think guys will come in ready to rock and roll,” Maddon said. “Nobody likes the fact we didn’t get to the World Series.

“After the past three years, it’s good for the group. Our guys will be hungry. They’re always hungry. And they’ll come in with the right attitude. They’ll be jacked up.”

“Our hitters have to grow up and gain maturity,” Maddon said. “We’ve gone to the final four (the last three seasons) with an inexperienced group. Give us some time, and our young guys will figure it out. You’re always going to face good pitching.”

While careful to not denigrate John Mallee, now with the Phillies, Maddon said new hitting coach Chili Davis will help the Cubs improve in situational hitting.